The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, yesterday commenced the construction of a major new Transit Way (N2) designed to link the Central Area with the Wuse District, a project he declared critical to transforming Abuja into a modern city.
The event, which also featured the groundbreaking for two accompanying bridges, was marked by the minister’s stern warning to underperforming officials, demanding 24-hour availability and faster results.
Highlighting the project’s significance within the administration’s legacy plans, Wike said the administration has many projects to showcase for the third anniversary of President Bola Tinubu and that the newly flagged-off road is one of them.
The minister, who emphasised the indispensability of road infrastructure, laid out his development philosophy in clear terms.
“No development in any city without a good network of roads. When all areas of a city are linked with a good network of roads, then you can talk about it becoming a modern city. Road infrastructure attracts investment,” he said.
He pointed to the upcoming ‘Abuja City Walk’, a project by investors from Dubai, as a direct result of the ongoing “infrastructure revolution” in the capital.
Addressing heads of departments, Wike directed officials in charge of security and health projects to take immediate action.
“Those in charge of health must sit up and know that time waits for nobody. If you don’t know how to be energetic enough to meet up, go and ask those who know how to keep up with the speed at which I work.
Your phones must be on because I may call you at any time. If your phones are off, it means you are not prepared for the job,” he said.
He was particularly critical of the pace of work on the construction of 12 new police stations in the territory.
“Director of Security, we are building not less than 12 police stations. Up till now, you have not come to tell me how many are ready.
The day I go and find out, that day you will go to the Institute of Policy Studies, so that you will allow another person to do the job,” he said.
Addressing his critics, the minister said, “When you are doing your work, people may hate you and they may not like the job. All those who hate us are using the roads. All those who hate us will use the water. All those who hate us will use the street lights.”
Earlier, the FCT Minister of State, Mariya Mahmoud, affirmed that the project marks “another milestone in our collective quest to strengthen connectivity, ease traffic congestion, and promote seamless movement within the Federal Capital Territory.”
